Hi All,

If your coming out to the Alice Springs/Ayres Rock region then make sure you bring your fly nets with you, your going to need them. The flies have hit with a vengence this year, the little pests are up your nose, in your eyes and ears before you can smack yourself stupid.

Cheers

Paul_S

Thanks for the warning Paul. I had never seen flies like that until I went to Australia...I really wanted to cut my head off and chuck it down the path in the hopes the flies would go with it.

It was kind of amusing though...I saw from a distance a large tourist group doing what I thought was a strange dance...but then I realized they were all going mad trying to swat those flies!

Its got something to do with too much camel dung

Bottom line: Best to visit the North and the Outback in the "winter" months. Not many flies then and the weather's great.

When do all the flies come out in Sydney? I remember I was driven a bit batty by those in November a few years ago.

Back to the store for nets! We'll be there in two weeks (!) and we're going to the "Sounds of Silence" dinner. Will they charge extra for the flies? I hear they're low-carb.

I realize it'll be warm (we're from Arizona where it's hot), but will we want to wear long sleeves and long pants? In other words, do they bite? And do they get to stay at the resorts with the paying customers?

Thanks for the heads up! (with hands waving)

We have just returned from a 3 weeks trip from Darwin to Broome and across to Uluru and Alice Springs - we had an almost fly-less trip except for the last two days in the Centre.
It was also getting noticeably hotter during the day but the nights were still cool.
The Sounds of Silence Dinner was wonderful - but you do need warm clothes as no matter how warm it is at the start by midway it is starting to get cold.

Hi Stormytrooper,

Generally, no the flies do not bite they are just really annoying. You will do more damage to yourself trying to swat the damn things. You will soon learn the great Australian salute. LOL
Sorry to say that the little buggers have a perpetual booking at all outback locations here so you will have to share your space with them. The only saving grace is that once the sun goes down they settle on the nearest bush until the sun comes up again.

The weather has warmed up noticeably in last couple of days so summer should be here in the next two weeks. Our climate is very close to Arizona's climate so you should not have much of a problem with it.

Cheers

Paul_S

Thanks Prue and Paul_S! We're really looking forward to starting our trip in the Red Center! Just checked the weather in Alice, and it looks a bit cooler during the day (woohoo!) and a lot colder at night. I'm glad to hear the flies tuck in early -- I don't like to share my food!

Hi Stormytrooper,

Our temp today here in Alice Springs is 31 degrees celcius, it has been dropping to about 24 at midnight. In two weeks time we should start seeing daytime temps around 35 - 36 and night temps around 28.

Cheers

Paul_S

Well a week ago I said it would be two weeks before we saw daytime temps of around 36 degrees celcius. Well we have been getting 36 for the last two days and I think we will get to 37 or 38 today. The 40 dgree days are definitely just around the corner so come prepared.

If you plan to do any extended outback walking then make sure you take plenty of water with you and you will need a wide brimmed hat with a fly net and don't forgetthe sun screen the higher rated the better at least 30+.

Oh and the flies have gotten worse.

Cheers

Paul_S